In total, 18,537,954 Egyptians voted out of around 45m eligible voters, making the turnout 41 per cent, far less than yesterday's estimated 60 per cent.

171,190 of the votes were void.

19:31 The results are being announced on state TV by the head of Supreme Judiciary Committee which supervised the vote.

18:16 A bolt comes in from Alexandria where two thirds of the votes have been counted, 65 per cent of which are against the amendments. The remaining uncounted votes are from the semi-rural Montazah district, according to a source in the judiciary.

A “No” or close vote in Alexandria, Egypt's second largest city, would carry substantial significance, both in real and symbolic terms, since the coastal city has for years been the major base of the country's Islamist movement, which has come out in force in favour of the amendments. During yesterday's voting, some polling stations in the city were draped with banners telling people to vote for the amendments.

The arguments put forward by both the Muslim Brotherhood and the normally apolitical Salafists for voting "Yes" were one of the most disturbing aspects of the build up to yesterday's ballot.

17:50 Official results from Sohag are in and it's 79 per cent for amending the Constitution. Sohag was another governorate that needed an emergency shipment of judges flown in to monitor the voting.

17:26 In Monofiya, famous as the birth place of former president Hosni Mubarak, 91 per cent of voters used the chance of a fair ballot to approve the amendments.

16:23 There are conflicting reports about when the results will be announced. Sources we've spoken to at Ahram Online say 7pm while on Twitter, 5 is the time. The way the results are rolling, it's like wondering what time a sunrise is; either way, it will be day.

Here's another result: 80 per cent in Marsa Matrouh think the amendments are what Egypt needs.

16:18 Minya wants the Constitution to be amended. Seventy six per cent of voters there do anyway.

16:15 Official results this time from Qena where a resounding 71 per cent of votes were for the amendments. Polling stations in the governorate had to close yesterday due to a shortage of judges to supervise the voting. Doesn't seem to have affected their confidence in the army's judgement.

15:34 Gharbiya and Daqahliya voters found the amendments to their liking by margins of 78 and 80 per cent respectively.

15:28 According to a source, 65 per cent of voters in South Cairo agreed with the amendments.

15:16 In North Sinai, 85 per cent of votes were for the amendments. Suez's 79 per cent support, announced earlier today, is starting to seem a close call.

15:10 More governorates reporting support for those amendments to what had looked a dead Constitution. In Beheira, a massive 93 per cent of voters said "Yes" with "only" 87.9 per cent agreeing to them in Kafr El Shiekh.

In Luxor, a governorate familiar with ancient relics, 81.5 per cent of votes were for the amendments.

14:32 It seems that promising to reveal all the results "within hours" has put a stop to the unofficial results and judicial sources.

14:10 It now seems that the final results will be announced "within hours", according to state TV.

13:55 The Supreme Judicial Committee has announced that the vote counting process has been finalized in Cairo’s polling stations and across all governorates.

The final results are expected to be announced in a press conference at 2pm today. The announcement we have fails to point out where this press conference is.

13:41 Another judicial source, this time in the Sharqiya governorate, reveals that 85 per cent of votes were for the proposed constitutional amendments. It's heading in only one direction so far.

13:30 A judicial source has told Ahram Online that initial results show that the majority of residents in the Qalioubiya governorate voted “Yes” to the constitutional amendments. According to the source, it is expected that the final result will be 75 per cent votes for “Yes”.

13:24 Mohamed El Shamy, the head of the Hurghada Court, announced that 63.4 per cent of those who voted in the Red Sea governorate voted "Yes" and 36.6 per cent voted "No".

13:15 A judicial source in Al-Wadi Al-Gedid says that 37,200 of the governorate's voters voted in favor of the proposed constitutional amendments, with 3,686 voting “No”. Initial results also show that 90 per cent of the residents of Fayoum voted “Yes” to the constitutional amendments.

12:55 Initial results reveal that 70 per cent of voters in the governorate of Ismalia said “Yes” to the constitutional amendments. Ismalia has 727,198 eligible voters of the 40 million eligible voters across Egypt.

12:45 Initial results from the governorate of Assiut show that the majority of the residents approved the constitutional amendments. It is expected that the number of people who voted “Yes” made up 60 per cent. Assiut has 929,376 eligible voters

12:10 Unofficial results from Suez point to an overwhelming "Yes" with 134,864 votes against 36,211, a resounding 79 per cent approval for the proposed amendments. 231 votes were declared void.

12:00 The initial results of yesterday’s constitutional referendum show that at least 25 million Egyptians participated, according to Mohamed Ahmed Atia, the head of the Supreme Judicial Committee that supervised the voting process. The total number of Egyptians who were eligible to vote yesterday is 40 million, meaning that an estimated 62.5 per cent of the eligible voters actually voted. Atia mentioned the possibility that the referendum’s results will not be announced today due to the large number of voters.

Ahram Online welcomes readers' comments on all issues covered by the site, along with any criticisms and/or corrections. Readers are asked to limit their feedback to a maximum of 1000 characters (roughly 50 words). All comments/criticisms will, however, be subject to the following code

We will not publish comments which contain rude or abusive language, libelous statements,
slander and personal attacks against any person/s.

We will not publish comments which contain racist remarks or any kind of racial
or religious incitement against any group of people, in Egypt or outside it.

We welcome criticism of our reports and articles but we will not publish personal
attacks, slander or fabrications directed against our reporters and contributing
writers.

We reserve the right to correct, when at all possible, obvious errors in spelling
and grammar. However, due to time and staffing constraints such corrections will
not be made across the board or on a regular basis.

Please Wait

1

SSF

21-03-2011 12:31am

0-

0+

The "YES" vote

A significant win for the Muslim Brotherhood and the Salafis... Congratulations! I fear Egypt's revolution will give birth to a stillborn democracy! All signs point to Egypt having an unenviable future.